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FIRST ON FOX: Democratic Illinois Gov. JB Pritzker is asking Trump administration officials and former Department of Homeland Security (DHS) leaders to testify before a commission he created targeting U.S. Immigration and Customs Enforcement (ICE) operations in the state.
Pritzker sent a letter to White House deputy chief of staff for policy Stephen Miller, border czar Tom Homan, former DHS Secretary Kristi Noem, acting ICE Director Todd Lyons, former DHS deputy assistant secretary Tricia McLaughlin and Customs and Border Patrol Commissioner Rodney Scott, among others.
“I established the Illinois Accountability Commission to preserve the truth and document how Donald Trump and his accomplices violated the rights of Illinoisans and terrorized our communities during Operation Midway Blitz,” Pritzker told Fox News Digital in a statement.
“These officials should answer directly to the people of Illinois for the chaos and violence they unleashed,” Pritzker added. “Regardless of whether or not these officials continue to perform their duties, the people of Illinois hold them all accountable.”
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Composite image of President Donald Trump and Illinois Governor JB Pritzker. Trump said aboard Air Force One that he could invoke the Insurrection Act to address violent crime in Chicago and urged Pritzker to “beg for help,” escalating their political standoff. (Saúl Loeb/AFP; Talia Sprague/Bloomberg)
The letter, obtained by Fox News Digital and signed by former Clinton-appointed judge Rubén Castillo for the United States District Court for the Northern District of Illinois and chairman of the Illinois Accountability Commission, asks recipients to testify at public hearings on April 27 or 28.
The White House criticized Pritzker, telling Fox News Digital that the commission is nothing more than a “political stunt” for the Illinois governor to try to boost his name for a possible presidential bid.
“JB Pritzker is a total bum who would rather come up with political tricks for his doomed presidential campaign than help the residents of Illinois,” White House spokeswoman Abigail Jackson told Fox News Digital.
Illinois Governor JB Pritzker answers questions at an event at Union Station in Chicago on December 16, 2025. (Eileen T. Meslar/Chicago Tribune)
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“If this bum spent half as much time addressing crime and public safety concerns in Chicago as he did pandering to radical leftists, Chicagoans would be a lot safer,” Jackson added. “The Trump administration and our heroic ICE officers will unapologetically remove dangerous criminal illegal aliens from American streets, whether Pritzker likes it or not.”
The letter specifies events that the commission considers an inappropriate show of force by federal agents and says one of the commission's goals is to “ensure meaningful accountability.”
“Reports from residents, legal advocates, journalists, and elected officials describe communities across Illinois as subject to aggressive federal tactics during Operation Midway Blitz,” the letter says. “These reports include the shooting death of Silverio Villegas-González in Franklin Park, the shooting of Marimar Martínez, the repeated deployment of tear gas in residential neighborhoods, the detention of U.S. citizens, and large-scale military-style raids on peaceful civilian communities.”
President Donald Trump speaks during an event with farmers on the South Lawn of the White House, Friday, March 27, 2026, in Washington. (Alex Brandon/AP)
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DHS Deputy Assistant Secretary Lauren Bis responded to the Fox News Digital investigation by criticizing Pritzker for “[refusing] do their job” and highlighted the recent murder of Sheridan Gorman, an 18-year-old college student who was killed by an illegal migrant in Chicago last month.
“Governor Pritzker continues to refuse to do his job of protecting his citizens from crimes committed by illegal aliens and instead chooses to smear our law enforcement,” Bis said. “Where is your investigation into your own policies that allowed Sheridan Gorman's killer to be released from jail to go ahead and commit his heinous murder?”
McLaughlin was also quick to respond to what he described as the “Ministry of Truth wannabe.”
White House Press Secretary Karoline Leavitt shows a printed document that reads “Media coverage of Sheridan Gorman” as she speaks during a press briefing in the James S. Brady Briefing Room of the White House in Washington, DC, U.S., March 30, 2026. (Kevin Lamarque/Reuters)
“I will appear before JB Pritzker's Truth Ministry hopeful on the day he ends Illinois' sanctuary policies, the same policies that protected Sheridan Gorman's killer and the illegal alien criminals responsible for the deaths of Katie Abraham, Chloe Polzin and many other American victims,” McLaughlin told Fox News Digital.
In response to current and former Trump administration officials' lack of interest in attending the hearings, a spokesperson for Pritzker said former officials specifically “are too scared” to attend.
“It's unfortunate that former Trump officials with more time on their hands are too scared to face the American people and answer questions,” the spokesperson told Fox News Digital. “If they spent so much time touting the 'achievements' of the operation, then they should have no problem defending it.”
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Noem was removed as DHS secretary in March and tasked with leading Trump's new special envoy for the “Americas Shield.” His departure was reportedly the result of a controversial $220 million advertising campaign and the deaths of two American citizens who were killed by DHS agents during ICE operations.
Former Oklahoma Sen. Markwayne Mullin was confirmed by the Senate following Noem's departure and was sworn in as DHS secretary on March 24.
